Speakers

Jon Petz is the world’s only Amazement Artist®, a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, two-time bestselling author, and award-winning emcee. Known for blending business insight with live performance, he delivers high-energy experiences that engage audiences and make ideas memorable.

A former sales and marketing executive and tech entrepreneur, Jon also performs professionally as a magician and mentalist for audiences around the globe. His unique mix of strategy, storytelling, and entertainment helps professionals think differently, connect more deeply, and perform at a higher level.

Jon is the author of Boring Meetings Suck and Significance in Simple Moments, with the latter supporting the Miracles & Magic™ Foundation, which brings joy to children facing serious illnesses.

Ciara Gravier is the CEO of The Bunker Insurance & Risk Management, an independent agency based in South Florida. With over 20 years in the industry, she’s built an agency that focuses on commercial insurance, serving the small to middle market segment. Ciara is on the Education committee of the LAAIA, where she helps coordinate the programming for the association across the country.  

Cole Hefner was born and raised in East Texas and currently resides in Mount Pleasant. He has been representing the people of House District Five since 2017. District Five encompasses Camp, Rains, Titus, Upshur, Wood, and parts of Smith counties.

Before being elected to the Texas House of Representatives, Cole served as County Commissioner for Upshur County. He also owned his own construction business for 16 years and eventually took over his family's commercial construction company. Currently, Cole is a small business owner in the insurance industry. He is actively involved in his community and is a member of the Lindale Chamber of Commerce, the Hide-A-Way Lake Kiwanis Club, the Mount Pleasant Lion’s Club and South Jefferson Baptist Church.

Cole has served on various committees during his time in the Texas House, including the Appropriations, Calendars, and Ways & Means committees. Currently he is serving as Chair of the Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs Committee, a member of the Transportation Committee, the Subcommittee on Transportation Funding, the Redistricting Committee, and the Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting. His experience in public service and private industry has given him a deep understanding of the need to reduce government intrusion into the lives and businesses of Texans.

Cole has been happily married to his wife, Kerri, since 2002, and they are blessed with seven wonderful children and one grand daughter.

As Chief Partnership Officer, Doug assumes responsibility for SIAA’s Revenue Manufacturing Department, focusing on working with the alliance’s Strategic Partners to build long-term relationships and drive multi-year distribution strategies. He is an accomplished executive with over two decades of experience in leadership roles across various industries and independent insurance distribution.

 Before his current role, Doug served as Executive Vice President, Head of Insurance Distribution at The Marketing Alliance, Inc., (TMA) responsible for driving top-line growth and profitability while managing its largest business unit. Under his leadership, the company successfully implemented solutions that resulted in premium growth, expanded distributor product offerings by negotiating the addition of life insurance and annuity carriers, and led company distribution expansion into Insurtech, FinTech, consumer-direct, and financial institution marketplaces. 

Before joining TMA, Doug worked at American Modern Insurance Group and the global reinsurance group Munich Re, where he led executive-level initiatives, including post-merger integration, strategic alliances, and operational efficiency-related initiatives. He also worked at the management consulting firm Accenture, leading teams that enabled clients to become high-performance businesses in various industries. In 2022, Doug received the ID 20 Award from the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), honoring insurance professionals who are trailblazers, change-makers and architects shaping the future of independent distribution.

 In addition to his professional experience, Doug volunteers as a Level 4 USA Hockey Coach and serves as Assistant Junior Varsity Ice Hockey Team Coach for St. Louis University High School. He also provides on-ice instruction to blind hockey players at St. Louis Blind Hockey. Doug previously served as Vice President and Board Member of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation. 

Doug earned his MBA from the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame, graduating with Cum Laude honors, and his BS in Business Administration from the Richard T. Farmer School of Business with a Major in Finance and a concentration in Risk Management and Insurance from Miami University. 

Doug resides with his wife and two children in St. Louis, MO.

Rob Bourne is a seasoned technology and go-to-market leader with deep experience scaling innovative software businesses and driving strategic growth. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of EZLynx at Applied Systems, where he leads the organization to deliver modern, AI-augmented solutions for independent agencies. Before joining Applied Systems, he held senior leadership roles at Podium and Athelas, leading sales teams, revenue strategy, and operations in fast-growth SaaS environments.  He holds an MBA from Cornell University, a BA from the University of Utah and is in located in Salt Lake City, Utah 

D.J. Postles brings over 20 years of underwriting and leadership expertise across global carriers, specialty MGAs, and reinsurance organizations. He has built and managed diversified portfolios, consistently driving profitable growth through disciplined underwriting and by strengthening broker and carrier partnerships in both regional and national markets. 

As SIAA’s Chief Data Officer, Anurag is responsible for developing and executing the overall Data, Analytics and AI Strategy across the organization. This includes deploying data platforms across members as well as Master agencies and strategic carrier partners. He is also responsible for developing the analytics and AI roadmap that will help the organization achieve its vision.

Anurag has over 25 years of experience of building and scaling technology products and services. Before joining SIAA, Anurag was the CEO and Co-Founder of DONNA.ai (Aureus Analytics) where he led the organization's overall growth, product roadmap and execution strategy and the eventual sale to SIAA. At DONNA ai he worked closely with a large number of independent insurance agencies across the US and helped them grow their businesses using AI and Data.

Anurag started his first technology venture – ESI, at the age of 24, which was later acquired by Omnitech, where he served as the COO & Head of Global Operations. Prior to ESI, he worked for IBM & CBay systems.

Anurag's strengths lie at the intersection of business and technology, focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

He is a co-author of two patents: Network Analysis and SentiMeter®.

Anurag is an engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai and has studied management at NMIMS in Mumbai and executive management from the ISB, Hyderabad. He has also studied Machine Learning from Stanford.

As a technology entrepreneur and artificial intelligence subject matter expert, Anurag is continuously thinking of disruptive ways to connect the evolution of AI and its application to various industries, including insurance.

Anurag lives in Connecticut with his wife and two sons.

Adam works directly with clients and prospects with a focus on providing proactive risk solutions and strategies for organizations that lack the resources of true internal risk management experts. He designs creative insurance solutions and manages client relationships to ensure top-level service. Adam’s team is responsible for the day-to-day primary oversight of the client’s program, including coordination of client/carrier/broker services, claims, loss control, contractual, and coverage needs.

Adam began his career when he joined Risk Placement Services (RPS) in 2006. He spent three years with Aon before returning to RPS in 2013. He is a national cyber liability specialist. He has worked with numerous organizations, and associations to help create unique offerings to their members working with domestic and international insurance carriers, brokers, and reinsurers. He has also worked closely with large private organizations to help create cyber programs and best practices for the betterment of their security. 

James Jenkins is the founder and CEO of RiskWell, a specialist firm headquartered in McKinney, serving businesses across 42+ states. Specializing in real estate investors, service contractors, bowling centers and white collar advisors and through platforms like HVACinsure.com, RiskWell has become a model for how independent agencies can punch above their weight class through smart systems and vertical focus. RiskWell routinely competes successfully against much larger brokerages to win key accounts in their target verticals.

A practitioner first, James has moved beyond AI experimentation to full operational deployment. His agency runs Turing, a proprietary AI agent powered by dedicated hardware, handling client education, website chat-based public interactions, inbound lead intake, workflow automation, and various research and prospecting projects across RiskWell's book of business. Named after computing pioneer Alan Turing, the system reflects James's belief that independent agencies don't need bigger teams to compete, they need better infrastructure.

RiskWell has adopted AgencyIQ, The Intelligent Agent, and Outmarket AI, in conjunction with curated and carefully managed environments of Claude Cowork from Anthropic and Chat GPT from OpenAI. 

James is the author of Leaving Captivity, Your Blueprint For Building And Scaling A Successful Insurance Agency. He was the host of the Agency Freedom Podcast that delivered 190+ episodes from 2021 until the show paused production in late 2024.

He joins this panel to share what's working, what isn't, and what peer agencies can realistically deploy today.

Mick Hunt is a USA Today Bestselling Author, CEO, and International Speaker who is redefining what it means to lead in the modern era.

As the founder of Mick Unplugged, he has become one of the most sought-after voices in Modern Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, challenging leaders to go beyond their “why” and be fueled by their “because.”

Through his bestselling book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One: The Blueprint for Modern Leadership, Mick equips a new generation of leaders with the mindset, self-awareness, and discipline required to win in a world that rewards authenticity over authority.

He is a multiple-time Forbes Business and Coaches Council Member, a trusted advisor to executives and entrepreneurs, and the host of the Mick Unplugged Podcast, a global platform where he sits down with influential leaders like Daymond John and Robert Irvine to unpack the principles behind success, resilience, and leadership at the highest level.

Recognized as The Voice of Modern Leadership, Mick’s mission is clear. To build a generation of leaders who are present, prepared, and purpose-driven. Because great leaders do not rise to the occasion. They rise to their level of preparation.

Senator Bryan Hughes is serving his third term in the Texas Senate, representing one million people across 19 counties in beautiful East Texas.
 
 Dubbed as “one of the most effective legislators in the country” by Governing Magazine, Senator Hughes is known for passing the Heartbeat Bill, Critical Race Theory Ban, Election Integrity Bill, Social Media Censorship Ban, and the strongest data privacy law in the Nation, along with several other groundbreaking laws.
 
 Ranked as the most conservative member of the Senate, Hughes is the only member of the legislature to have two pieces of legislation argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
 For his service in the Legislature, Senator Hughes has received the Taxpayer Champion Award, the Visionary Leader Award from Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, and the Horizon Award from Texas Right to Life. He has also been named Defender of the American Dream by Americans for Prosperity and Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business.
 
A graduate of Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler, Senator Hughes earned his B.B.A. in economics, cum laude, and became the first member of his family to earn a bachelor’s Degree. He continued his studies at the Baylor University School of Law and served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge William Steger of Tyler before entering private practice which he maintains, helping families and businesses solve problems and deal with complex challenges. He has been honored as Baylor Young Lawyer of the Year and Outstanding Alumnus of both Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler.
 
Senator Hughes chairs the Senate Committee on State Affairs and serves as Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Civil Discourse and Freedom of Speech in Higher Education. He also serves on the Senate Committees on Health & Human Services, Natural Resources, Redistricting, and Nominations, and is a member of the Energy Council’s Executive Committee.
 
 In his free time, Senator Hughes enjoys serving in his church, bird hunting, hiking, and spending time with family. He and his wife, Leyla, live in Tyler.

Rodney Watkins is a seasoned insurance executive and respected community leader, serving as Principal/President for Insurance Agents Alliance of Texas and shareholder with Watkins Insurance Group. With decades of experience in the insurance industry, Rodney is known for strategic leadership, operational discipline, and a steadfast commitment to agent advocacy.  His approach emphasizes integrity, long term value, and management solutions.

Beyond his professional leadership, Rodney is deeply committed to community service.  He has dedicated significant time to civic involvement and local initiatives which include serving in an elected capacity as city councilman, mayor, and school board trustee,  where he has served (11) years as a trustee and (4) years as school board President.  In addition, Rodney serves as board chair for UT Health Quitman hospital where he has served since 1998.

Rodney has proudly implemented The CISR designation program in conjunction with the Risk and Insurance Education Alliance in the Mineola Independent School District where every year for the past three years students have graduated with the CISR designation.

Rodney truly believes in giving back to the community and the insurance profession.